Student Spotlight

Music Course Requirements

Music Major Requirements (minimum 45 credits)

Upon admittance to the school, incoming freshman and transfer student music majors should contact the music program coordinator for information on placement exam and audition dates: Mark Zaki or call 856.225.6239.

Students majoring in music must earn a grade of C or better in the following courses:

Music majors with a concentration in history/theory are required to take a comprehensive examination in music history and theory during their senior year. Please see the music program webpage for information: http://finearts.camden.rutgers.edu/music. Electroacoustic Composition/Theory Concentration (15 Credits): 50:700:173 Studies in Composition I (3) 50:700:390 Electronic Music (3) 50:700:391 Music and Computers (3) 50:700:392 Topics in Electroacoustic Music (3) 50:700:393 Electroacoustic Composition and Performance (3)

Music majors with a concentration in electroacoustic composition/theory are required to submit a portfolio of their work and take a comprehensive examination in music theory during their senior year. Please see the music program webpage for information: http://finearts.camden.rutgers.edu/music.

Recommended courses in foreign language: 50:470:102 Elementary German II (4), or 50:560:102 Italian II (4) Attendance at 10 college recitals or concerts each academic year

Transfer students should consult with the music program coordinator prior to enrollment.

Music Minor Requirements (minimum 20 credits)

50:700:125 Introduction to Music Theory (3) 50:700:161 Basic Musicianship I (2) 50:700:202 Introduction to Music (3) or 50:700:203 Introduction to World Music (3) or 50:700:413World Music (3) 50:700:225-226 Music Theory I,II (3,3)

A minimum of 6 credits of music history.

Attendance at five college recitals or concerts each academic year strongly recommended.

Music Major with Teacher Certification (minimum 44 credits)

Students seeking teacher certification in music must complete the following requirements for music. For details regarding admission to the Teacher Preparation Program and its requirements, students should consult both their program director and the director of the Teacher Preparation Program.

Performance Studies (Applied Music 701)

The aim of performance studies is to present music as a liberal art, for its value as literature and as a record of one aspect of human achievement. Students are strongly encouraged to acquire and improve performing techniques as a necessary means of cultivating the art. The music program offers instruction in instrumental and vocal music with a distinguished faculty of artist associates and welcomes students at all levels, including beginners. Note that an additional fee for private instruction is required.

Exams

Music Theory Placement Exam

Music Theory Placement Test for First-Year Music Majors

Exam date: TBD

All incoming first-year music majors are required to take a music theory placement exam. The theory placement exam allows students to place out of Introduction Music Theory (700:125) and into Music Theory I (700:225).

Upon admission to the college, students are asked to contact the Fine Arts Department to register for the placement exam at 856.225.6176.

Our diagnostic examination checks students’ knowledge of musical fundamentals. All students who receive a high score on the test can test out of our basic music theory class (called “Introduction to Music Theory” 700:125). The Theory Placement Test consists of:

All minor scales (in all three types: natural, harmonic and melodic) and minor key signatures

The size and quality of all simple intervals (e.g., major thirds, augmented fourths)

All types of triads (major, minor, augmented and diminished)

Prospective students are encouraged to review these skills before entering the program. Almost any basic harmony or music appreciation textbook will have introductory chapters that students may consult for preparation.

Here are some suggestions on how to prepare for the written music theory placement examt:

Use on-line resources to study any of the above topics. Click here to view a list of on-line resources.

Buy a book on essential musicianship / introductory music theory, e.g. J. T. Kolosick / A. H. Simon: Explorations. A New Approach to Music Fundamentals (2nd edition; Mountain View: Mayfield Publishing, 1998), J. Clough / J. Conley / C. Boge: Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm, and Meter (3rd edition, New York: W. W. Norton, 1999), or William Duckworth: A Creative Approach to Music Fundamentals (with CD-ROM) 10th Edition, Wadsworth, 2007. The latter book (by Duckworth) is the one currently used in our Introduction to Music Theory course. However, in our Theory I through III courses, we are using the latest edition of S. Kostka / Dorothy Payne: Tonal Harmony (5th edition, Boston: McGraw Hill, 2004); all topics on the diagnostic test are also covered in chapters 1 through 4 of Tonal Harmony.

Hire a tutor. Any college-trained musician should be able to help you with essential musicianship.

Some additional suggestions for the study of music theory in general:

If you are not playing piano already, start taking piano lessons, regardless of the instrument you are playing. Playing the piano supports the study of music theory; in addition, you can already work towards the piano proficiency which is required of all music majors at Rutgers-Camden.

If you are not a singer, start singing on a regular basis. You do not need to take voice lessons, but you should be able to sing in tune and match pitches. In Basic Musicianship classes, you train your abilities to sing at sight, etc.

In Basic Musicianship classes, you will also train your ear, especially with writing down what you hear. You can get a head-start by using some on-line resources for aural learning or by buying ear-training software. (The ear-training books & software we are currently using in our Aural Learning classes are Music For Sight Singing, 6th ed. by Robert W. Ottman, Studying Rhythm, 3rd ed. by Anne Carothers Hall, and Auralia Ear-training Software by Sibelius).

If you have questions about the music curriculum at Rutgers-Camden, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Joe Schiavo at schiavo@rutgers.edu.

Piano Proficiency Examination

Satisfactory completion of the examination is a graduation requirement for all Bachelor of Arts music majors and minors.

Procedures

The Keyboard Proficiency Examination is given as the final exam in Piano IV (701:262) each spring semester. It is also given each semester, two to four weeks before final exams, for those students not enrolled in piano.

It is recommended that music majors and minors complete the examination no later than the spring semester of the third year. Those parts of the exam that are not passed at that time can be retaken in the following year.

Music majors in the Teacher Preparation Program must successfully complete the examination prior to Student Teaching.

It is expected (but not required) that a student will be enrolled in individual instruction in the music program during the semester in which the Proficiency Examination is taken.

Requirements

Play all major scales, all harmonic and melodic minor scales starting on the white keys, and all major, minor, fully diminished 7th and dominant 7th arpeggios, through at least two octaves, hands together, at a moderate speed, with proper fingerings.

Perform one simple homophonic piece comparable to a first movement from a sonatina by Clementi.

Perform one simple polyphonic piece comparable to one of the pieces in the Anna Magdalena Notebook by J.S. Bach.

Sight-reading commensurate with level of advancement.

Comprehensive B.A. Examination

The comprehensive exam for the B.A. in music is given twice a year in October and February. All music majors must take the exam after completing the music history sequence (700:291,292,293, and 294). We strongly advise you to take the exam before your last semester. Please contact Prof. Schiavo for more information: 225.6539 or e-mailDr. Joe Schiavo

Composer DatesYou will be given a list of 20 composers, selected from the list below.Provide a date that falls within each composer’s mature career.To be counted correct, the date must be after the composer’s 20th year and before his or her death.

Title IdentificationYou will be given a list of of about 30 works, selected from the list below.For each work, identify the composer and provide an approximate date.To be counted correct, the date must be within 20 years of the actual date.

Terms/NamesYou will be given a list of of about 20 terms, titles, or names, selected from the list below.For each, provide definitions or identifications and indicate the repertory and time period to which it applies.